Posted by
Carlos Gershenson on
May 13, 2006; 12:53pm
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Advice-needed-on-CAS-tp521794p521802.html
Hi Habib,
> Anyhow, there is still a question open in my mind about CAS..
> Is it going to die out or not?
I don't think so. First of all, previous fields like cybernetics did
not die out, but evolved. So now people who studied (or still study)
cybernetics per se, find their way.
But more importantly, I think that CAS are different from
cybernetics, chaos, etc. They have lots of potential, and they have
proven to be useful in lots of areas.
Moreover, there are several funding opportunities focussing on CAS
(at least in Europe), so if there's funding calling for CAS research,
people will follow.
CAS also suggest a different way of thinking about the world, but
wether this will replace Newtonian paradigms in mainstream science or
not, remains to be seen.
> You know, sometimes I think CAS is only a way to tell us we don't know
> enough, and we should not loose details, not a systematic approach to
> solve problems. At this point, it seems CAS is a more a means of
> observe rather than a means of control. Every new observation is only
> interesting for a while, and soon have to be substituted with another
> one.
Well, indeed there is yet no "science of complexity", but wether we
will reach that, or change our concept of science, I think that
understanding of CAS has been increasing steadily, so I don't see it
dying out, at least for the next decade. If then we won't be speaking
about CAS, it won't be because we've forgotten about them, but
because we've found something better, and in any case CAS knowledge
will be useful there.
> I think an example form a work done here at IPM (Institute for Studies
> in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics, Tehran, Iran) can illuminate
> what i try to say: We have a paper in review here that suggests
> neuronal bursts in thalamus are a emergent property and previously
> neglected details like calcium ion concentration in active canals will
> dictate if we observe them in our model or not. This is what one can
> infer from his knowledge of CAS - but only when you have a in depth
> understanding of system, you can claim you really qualitatively grasp
> the meaning of it.
It depends on your purposes.
If describing neuronal bursts as emergent properties increases your
understanding of the brain, then it's useful. If not, not...
Khodahafez,
Carlos Gershenson...
Centrum Leo Apostel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Krijgskundestraat 33. B-1160 Brussels, Belgium
http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~cgershen/ ?Tendencies tend to change...?